Man who wore ’97 not enough’ shirt at FA Cup Final has been charged
A man who wore a football shirt appearing to reference the Hillsborough disaster at Wembley for the FA Cup final has been charged.
The Metropolitan Police Events Twitter account retweeted a picture on Saturday (3 June) of a man wearing a Manchester United shirt that had the number 97 on the back and the words ‘Not Enough’.
James White, 33, of Warwickshire, has been charged with displaying threatening or abusive writing likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress, after allegedly wearing a football shirt at Wembley Stadium which appeared to make an offensive reference to the Hillsborough tragedy, the Met Police said.
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In a tweet, the force said: "A man has been charged after being arrested during the FA Cup final at @wembleystadium.
"He was arrested after being seen wearing a shirt which appeared to refer in offensive terms to those who died in the Hillsborough tragedy."
White has been bailed and is set to appear at Willesden Magistrates' Court on Monday 19 June.
A statement from the Met said: "He was arrested after being seen wearing a shirt which appeared to refer in offensive terms to those who died in the Hillsborough tragedy."
Earlier today, the Football Association condemned the man’s actions - saying it would not ‘tolerate abuse relating to Hillsborough or any football tragedy’.
In a statement, the FA said: “The FA strongly condemns the actions of the individual who wore a shirt referencing the Hillsborough disaster ahead of the Emirates FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium.
“We saw a photograph of the offensive shirt on social media and immediately started working to identify the perpetrator.
“Our security team were able to quickly locate the individual based on the image, and we welcome the swift action which was then taken by the police.
“We will not tolerate abuse relating to Hillsborough or any football tragedy at Wembley Stadium and we will continue to work with the authorities to ensure strong action is taken against perpetrators.”
97 football fans died as a result of a crush at a match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield on April 15, 1989.
They were unlawfully killed amid a number of police errors, an inquest jury ruled in 2016.
Claire Reid